Tasikmalaya Regency (pronounced ; , Sundanese: ) is a regency (, sub-province region) in the province of West Java, Indonesia. With an area of , it is the biggest and most important in the southeast region of East Preanger (). Tasikmalaya Regency had a population of 1,687,776 at the 2010 census and 1,865,203 at the 2020 census; the mid-2022 official estimate was 1,906,288 (comprising 966,287 males and 940,001 females).
The regency was previously administered from Tasikmalaya City; however, Tasikmalaya City and Tasikmalaya Regency now are administratively independent of each other, and the area and population listed above exclude the city. The administrative centre of the regency is now at Singaparna, west of the city.
Agricultural fields and forestry are the regency's dominant land uses. Most residents are farmers. Tasikmalaya is a major religious centre for West Java. The regency is known as the city of Muslim students (kota santri), with more than 800 traditional Islamic boarding schools (pesantren). Tasikmalaya is known for handicrafts () and salak (zalacca). The regency's most famous food is hot steamed rice mixed with oncom (nasi tutug oncom).
History
Toponymy
The origin of the name Tasikmalaya is uncertain. The word has no apparent meaning in local languages. Three possibilities have been proposed, all of which are combinations of Sundanese words: (1) the name may be a conflation of tasik and (ma)layah, literally "an ocean of hills"; (2) the source words may be tasik, jeung, and laya, meaning "large tracts of sand" (, ); (3) the name's original words may be tasik (lake, sea), and malaya (a chain of mountains or highlands), also meaning "an ocean of hills". The "ocean" or large area is presumed to begin at Sukapura, formerly called Tawang or Tawang-Galunggung. Tawang means paddy fields, or literary "a wide range of an open space". The eruption of Mount Galunggung created mountains, hills, and mounds of scattered sand in the formerly open region of Sukapura.
Ancient origins
In the 7th to 8th centuries, a realm with an unknown form of governance was centered near Mount Galunggung. The realm had the authority to designate the sovereigns of Galuh Kingdom. Its rulers were Batara Semplakwaja, Batara Kuncung Putih, Batara Kawindu, Batara Wastuhayu, and finally Batari Hyang, who changed the form of governance into a monarchy (kingdom).
According to the Geger Hanjuang inscription, the Kingdom of Galunggung was established on 13th Bhadrapada 1033 Shaka (21 August 1111), and Queen Batari Hyang was its first ruler. Her famous teachings, known as Sang Hyang Siksakanda ng Kareksian, were still used as an official doctrine in the era of Prabu Siliwangi (1482–1521), the monarch of Pakuan Pajajaran. The Kingdom of Galunggung lasted for six more rulers, each in hereditary succession.
Modern
At the start of the 16th century, a government in Sukakerta faced an opportunity to secede from its sovereign ruler, the Pajajaran Kingdom, which was ruled by Prabu Surawisesa (successor to Sri Baduga Maharaja Prabu Siliwangi). His kingdom faced a threat of expansion from the Banten Sultanate and Demak with the spread of Islam. As this expansion weakened the kingdom, its territories tried to break away.
In the early 17th century, three major forces (Mataram, Banten, and the VOC) were in conflict on the island of Java. After ten years of upheaval in the region of Priangan, the head of Sukakerta, Wirawangsa, was assigned as the Regent of Sukapura and honoured with a nobility name of Wiradadaha I by Sultan Agung of Mataram. Upon the promotion of its leader, the regency changed its name to Sukapura and the capital of the regency was moved from Dayeuh Tengah to Leuwiloa, Sukaraja.
Years later, under the governance of Raden Tumenggung Surialaga (1813–14), the capital of the regency was brought to Tasikmalaya. In 1832, under the governance of Wiradadaha VIII, the capital was moved to Manonjaya, but after some consideration, particularly economically, it was switched back to Tasikmalaya. In 1913, the name of the regency, Sukapura, was changed to Tasikmalaya by the government regent R.A.A. Wiratanuningrat (1908–1937).
Based on the Geger Hanjuang inscription, the date of August 21 has been assigned as the date of Tasikmalaya regency's anniversary. The inscription, as it tells, was made to mark the establishment of the Kingdom of Galunggung and the inauguration of its first sovereign, Queen Batari Hyang, on 21 August 1111.